The Necklace Summary in English
A lady, Mathilde Loisel lived in a flat with his husband. He worked as a clerk for the Ministry of Education. They were not able to live a luxurious life. However, they were not poor, merely simple. However, Mathilde’s desire was to be rich. She felt irritated, disappointed and sad of not having a large house. Moreover, she desired to have good dresses, lots of jewelry which made her sad.One day his husband brings her an invitation to a fancy party. It was an invitation to the ball. He thought his wife would be very excited about seeing the invitation letter. However, his wife, instead of being happy, threw away the invitation letter and started crying. She complained about not having a pretty dress to wear on such a great occasion. She wanted to seek admiration for everyone. Also, she wanted to be a success at the party. His gentle husband gave her four hundred francs to buy a pretty dress. He had saved the money to buy a rifle.The week of the party approached. His wife seemed to be anxious again. She was upset as she felt that she didn’t have any jewelry to wear with the dress. Her husband suggests her to ask the same from his friend Jeanne Forestier. Mathilde went to her house and borrowed a sparkling necklace.Mathilde, along with his husband enjoyed a lot at the party. She was successful in seeking everyone’s attention to her. Then, they headed for home during the odd hours in the morning. On reaching home, Mathilde was surprised on not finding a necklace around her neck. They both felt that it might have fallen down in the cab which they took to reach home. Also, he searched on the streets they have come through.Moreover, he approached the police, gave advertisement but all in vain. Her husband asked her to write a letter to her friend. She wrote that she had the clasp broken and is getting it repaired. Meanwhile, they were successful in searching for a similar necklace. However, it cost thirty-six thousand francs. His husband has inherited eighteen thousand francs from his father. However, they had to borrow the remaining money. They managed to buy the necklace through inherited and borrowed money.But it took them a period of ten years to repay the borrowed amount. In these years, their lives have drastically changed. They moved to a smaller apartment, cleaned and cooked herself. Moreover, his husband did multiple jobs to repay the amount. Also, she looked like a strong woman of a poor household. She looked very aged. One day she saw Miss Jeanne Forestier on the street. She decided to tell her the truth about the necklace. The latter was stunned by the rough appearance of the former. Moreover, on learning the truth of necklace, Jeanne Forestier told that it was a fake one. The worth of the same was no more than five hundred francs.
Read and Find Out
(Page 39)
Question 1.
What kind of a person is Mme Loisel and why is she always unhappy?
Answer:
Mme Loisel is young, pretty, ordinary but discontented woman. She is of a humble background but dreams of riches and comforts. She is proud of her beauty and wants to be admired. Her meagre resources are not enough to satisfy her expensive cravings making her angry all the time.
Question 2.
What kind of a person is her husband?
Answer:
Her husband M Loisel, is an ordinary and average young man. A mere clerk by profession, he is still contented with his job. Also, he is a caring man as he is excited to show the dinner invitation to his wife.
Page 41
Question 3.
What fresh problem now disturbs Mme Loisel?
Answer:
After spending a fortune on a beautiful dress, Mme Loisel is
faced with yet another disaster. She frets over the fact that she does not have a beautiful jewel to go with her dress. So, she asks her husband to pass on the invitation to someone else.
Question 4.
How is the problem solved?
Answer:
Matilda Loisel’s husband, M. Loisel, comes to her rescue. First, he suggests her to wear fresh flowers. Matilda just mocked at the idea. Then, he advises her to borrow some jewels from her rich friend, Mme Forestier. Thus, the problem is solved as Mme Forestier lends her a beautiful diamond necklace.
Page 42
Question 5.
What do Mr and Mme Loisel do next?
Answer:
The Loisels leave no stone unturned. M. Loisel goes backa and searches to the lost necklace. Then, he goes to the police and to the cab offices. Also, they put out an advertisement n the newspapers and offer a reward to anyone who finds :he necklace. But, all their efforts go in vain.
Question 6.
How do they replace the necklace?
Answer:
After all other efforts fail, Loisel’s decide to buy a new identical necklace to replace the lost one. M. Loisel pooled eighteen thousand francs of his inheritance and borrowed the rest. Then the couple managed to buy the new necklace for thirty six thousand francs and returned it to the rightful 0wner.
Think About It
(Page 46)
Question 1.
The course of the Loisel’s life changed due to the necklace. Comment.
Answer:
It takes Loisels a decade to pay back the money they borrowed to buy the necklace. And, it changed everything for them. They had to move to the poorest quarters of the city. With no maids or assistance, Matilda had to cook, clean, mend, sew, bargain with the grocer and butcher to save every sou just for mere survival. The husband had to work in the evening and night to pay their debt. In this way, the course of the Losiel’s life changed due to the necklace.
Question 2.
What was the cause of Matilda’s ruin? How could she have avoided it?
Answer:
Matilda’s pride and her materialistic aspirations coupled with her dishonesty pave the way for her ruin. She could have avoided it by learning to accept her current situation and being content with what she had.
Question 3.
What would have happened to Matilda if she had confessed to her friend that she had lost her necklace?
Answer:
Truth and honesty would have saved Matilda from her doom. If only she had it been courageous enough to confess to her friend the truth of the necklace, she would have come to know that it was a fake one that cost only five hundred francs. She would not have spent her husband’s entire inheritance and borrowed eighteen thousand francs to pay for its replacement. In fact, she would have saved herself and her husband from ten long years of crushing poverty, misery and back breaking labour.
Question 4.
If you were caught in a situation like this, how would you have dealt with it?
Answer:
Foremost of all, I would have done my best not to become a victim of my own pride and aspirations. If I had been caught in such a situation, I would have let the truth out and then face the consequences. Honesty would have been the way out for me.
Talk About It
(page 46)
Question 1.
The characters in this story speak in English. Do you think this is their language? What clues are there in the story about the language its characters must be speaking in?
Answer:
Though the characters speak in English, it is not their language. Maupassant wrote the story in French and it was translated into English. Again the very text throws up enough words in French to prove it otherwise. First, the very names of characters like ‘Mme Loisel, Mme Forestier and the minister’s name George Ramponneau indicate their French origin. Then, the words for currency like ‘Franc’ and ‘Sou’ show the same. Also, the shop’s location at ‘Palais Royal’ and ‘Champs Elysees’ point out the French history of the characters and the story.
Question 2.
Honesty is the best Policy.
Answer:
Honesty is definitely the best policy. Falsehood and hypocrisy seem very attractive and rewarding at first. But, the path they tread on leads to nothing but misery, evil and utter gloom. Honesty, on the contrary, seems to be a difficult choice in pursuit of material happiness. However, it is the only choice for a life of contentment, peace and everlasting happiness.
Question 3.
We should be content with what life gives us.
Answer:
Life is a great mystery. For every individual this mystery of life comes wrapped in a unique package. For some, it is all riches, comfort, name and fame. For some, it is nothing but sheer hunger, poverty, anguish and an everyday quest for bare survival. One, however, must learn to live within one’s means and be content with what one has. One may try to improve his lot by honest means but eventually must be at peace with what one manages to have.
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